1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lever-type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A split connector of a wiring harness has auxiliary connectors mounted in a frame-shaped holder so that the auxiliary connectors can be connected with a mating connector at once. The connector has a large number of contacts. Accordingly, connection resistance increases due to friction between terminals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,040 discloses a connector that uses the cam action of a lever to reduce the connecting force. The connector has a holder for accommodating the auxiliary connectors, and supporting shafts project from left and right sides of the holder. The connector also has a gate-shaped lever with two cam plates and an operable portion that connects the cam plates. The cam plates are mounted rotatably on the supporting shafts of the holder and have cam grooves that engage cam pins of a mating connector. The lever then is rotated and the cam action of the cam grooves and the cam pins pulls the connectors toward one another.
The above-described connector has a reduced degree of design freedom due to interference of wires drawn out from the auxiliary connectors and the lever crossing over the holder. To avoid the interference of the wires and the holder, a wire draw-out direction or a lever rotatable range is subject to restriction. This often requires a larger connector.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to provide a lever-type connector with an improved degree of in freedom.
The invention relates to a lever-type connector with auxiliary connectors that accommodate terminal fittings. The connector has a holder for the auxiliary connectors, and the holder preferably is in the shape of a frame. A lever is mounted rotatably on the holder and connects the lever-type connector and a mating connector by cam action effected between the two connectors as the lever is rotated. The lever extends along only an outer wall surface of the holder. Accordingly, interference is unlikely between the lever and wires drawn out from the auxiliary connectors. Thus, a draw-out direction of the wires and a rotatable range of the lever are less restricted and the connector can be smaller.
The holder preferably has an accommodating recess to accommodate the lever and holds the lever from substantially opposite sides along the rotational axis of the lever. Accordingly, the lever will not deform along the direction of the rotational axis and will not detach from the holder while connecting or disconnecting the lever-type connector or during transportation. The accommodating recess preferably is defined between an outer wall and an intermediate wall of the holder, and the lever is held between the outer wall and the intermediate wall with a small clearance.
The rotation or pivotal movement of the lever preferably is guided by rotation or pivotal guiding means on the holder and/or the lever.
The connector assembly preferably has a connection completing locking piece for locking the lever at a connection completing position.
The lever may comprise at least one resilient locking piece engageable with the holder to hold the lever at the initial position. The resilient locking piece is resiliently deformable at an angle to the rotational axis of the lever, and preferably is resiliently deformable along a plate surface of a cam plate of the lever.
Most preferably, the connection completing locking piece is deformable in a direction different than the direction of deformation of the resilient locking piece, and preferably in a direction of the rotational or pivotal axis of the lever.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.